Bulkhead drier



P. E. GELDHOF BULKHEAD DRIER Dec. 2, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan.18. 1947 172511 I I f 001720 6220190,-

Dec. 2, 1952 P. E. GELDHOF 2,619,736

BULKHEAD DRIER Filed Jan. 18, 1947 .5 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 1g. Z I

r i1? 7 I I 22225.

Dec. 2, 1952 P. E. GELDHOF 2,619,736

BULKHEAD DRIER Filed Jan. 18. 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 fig? 4 //4 Pins-e[pl/FPO Giza/Mr Dec. 2, 1952 GELDHOF 2,619,736

BULKHEAD DRIER Filed Jan. 18, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 2,1952 BULKHEAD DRIER Peter Eduard Geldhof, St. Joseph, Micln, as-

signor to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of New York ApplicationJanuary 18, 1947, Serial No. 722,875

Claims. 1

This invention relates to a clothes drier, and more particularly to asmall, compact unitary clothes drier of the type which is suitable forordinary household use in connection with any laundry machine or washingapparatus.

One type of clothes drier which is supplied for household use includes adrum mounted for rotation in a closed housing through which heated airis circulated.

It is one of the principal features and objects of the present inventionto provide a novel clothes drier of this general category which givesgreatly improved results with a minimum expenditure of energy.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a drier ofthe rotating drum type having a novel bulkhead construction fordirecting the flow of air through the casing of the drier.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a drier novel meansfor heating air whereby the articles in the drier are heated by radiantheat from the heater unit as well as by direct contact with heated air.

A further object of the present invention is to provide in a clothesdrier a novel electric control circuit for allowing the air-circulatingfan in the drum to be rotated for a definite time after the heating unithas been de-energized, thus preventing excessive temperatures in thedrier when the clothes are at rest.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of valve meansfor regulating the relative quantities of fresh air and of recirculatedair that are heated and circulated through the drying compartment.

Another and further object of this invention is to provide a clothesdrier having novel structural features.

Another and still further object of this invention is to provide a novelbelt-tightening means for the drive mechanism of the drier.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my inventionare set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My inventionitself, however, both as to its organization, manner of construction,and method of operation, together with further objects and advantagesthereof, may be best understood by reference to the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a rear elevational View of a clothes drier embodying thenovel principles and teachings of the present invention with the rearpanel of the device removed, as indicated by line II of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View taken substantially on line IIIIof Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line IVIV of Figure l;

Figure 5 is a horizontal fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyon line V-V of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a perspective View of a clothes drier embodying the novelfeatures characteristic of the present invention, looking downwardlythereon at the right hand corner thereof; and

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic sketch of the electrical control circuit ofthe present invention.

As illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings, reference numeral Iiiindicates a clothes drier which includes an outer casing or cabinet I iin which is mounted a rotating drum 15 arranged to receive clothes orother articles to be dried.

The top and sides of the casing H may conveniently be a unitarystructure secured as by welding to a bottom plate l2 of the casing. Therear portion of the top of the casing is extended upwardly as at I la toafford an instrument panel for the control members of the drier.

An opening is provided in the front wall of the casing ll substantiallyopposite the drum l5, which opening is defined by a flange i ibextending axially rearwardly from a recessed portion lie of the frontwall. This opening is arranged to be closed by a door l3 including asolid outer panel Eta and a solid inner panel [31) suitably securedtogether at their marginal overlapping edges. The door is equipped withconcealed hinges (not shown) and is movable upon being closed into therecess lie of the Wall, thus permitting the outer panel Hz: to liesubstantially flush with the front wall of the casing.

As best seen in Figure 6, a plurality of air inlet holes M is providedat the lower rear portion of the side member of the cabinet. Thefunction of these air inlet holes will be described hereinafter.

The rotating drum I5 comprises a front wall it, a rear perforated wallor screen member ii, and an enclosing peripheral casing [8 which issuitably secured, as by welding, to the front and rear Wall members. Anopening, defined by the forwardly turned lip [6a is provided in thefront wall it of the rotating drum. The lip 6a of the drum and theflange H b of the casing H are disposed in overlapping, spaced relation,as is clearly shown in Figure 2. Thus, there is formed an annularpassageway between the casing and the drum for the entrance of air intothe front part of the rotating drum.

The opening in the front wall of the rotating drum defined by the lip[5a also provides an access port through which the clothes to be driedmay be placed in the drum when the door i3 is swung open.

The rear screen member ll, which also acts as an inlet for heated airentering the rotating drum, has a dished-in central portion Ila which isstructurally reinforced by means of a panshaped member 21, welded orotherwise suitably secured to the outside surface thereof. On the innersurface of the rotating drum I5, there is provided a plurality of vanesi9 which extend inwardly and serve the dual purpose of tumbling theclothes as the drum rotates, while acting as bracing members between thefront and rear walls of the drum. These vanes 19 are formed of sheetmetal in a U-shape (Figure 3). A member 19a, secured across the open endof the vane I9, is attached as by set screws l9b to the peripheralmember N3 of the drum l5. As seen in Figure 2, indented portions lfib ofthe front wall 16 of the drier and inwardly extending members libsecured to the inner side of the screen member I'I act as guides aroundwhich the U-shaped vanes [9 are disposed for support.

The rotating drum I is also provided with a frame or spider in the formof three radially extending supporting arms, 23, 2| and 22. The innerends of these arms are secured to a hub 25 which is fastened by a setscrew 26 to a. shaft 28 extending therethrou'gh and abutting the rearscreen member I! of the drum i5. Each individual arm 25, 2i and 22 isfixed to the hub 25 by a pin 29.

Each arm 2!], 2i and 22 is formed of a sheet metal tube which is flexedat its outer end, as at 23. The flat'portion is bolted to the drum l5 bya small bolt 24 and a large bolt 25a, which extends clear through thedrum from one end to the other. The flange at which the outer edge ofthe arms 2B, 2! and 22 are secured to the drum are directly opposite tothe points where the vanes is are secured, allowing the large throughbolts 25a to be conveniently enclosed under the U-shaped vane IBawayfrom possible contact with the clothes in the drum.

For the purpose of directing the flow of air through the drier casing,and also to provide a journal support for the hub 25 which supports theshaft 28, there is provided a bulkhead 35. This bulkhead 3% issubstantially a solid sheet member which is adapted to be positionedacross the inside of the casing directly behind the rear end of the drum15. A forwardly turned peripheral edge 33, extending around the bulkhead30, affords a means by which the bulkhead is secured, as by welding, tothe lower casing member [-2. While the lower edge of the bulkhead issecured to the casing, the other three marginal portions of the bulkheaddo not abut the casing, being so arranged that there is provided aslight clearance, such, for example, as approximately T 5 of an inch,between the member and the casing. The space so provided on these threesides of the bulkhead affords a passageway through which fresh airentering the casing at the rear of the bulkhead through the inlet holesid in the casing is drawn to the front of the casing forsubsequent entryinto the front end of the drum I5.

Near the center of the bulkhead, there is provided an aperture 300 whichis adapted to sup port for rotation therein the hub member 25.

Looking at the rear of the bulkhead, as in Figure 1, it is seen that thelower left-hand corner of the bulkhead is provided with a cutout portion30d for accommodating a compartment 34 for a motor 35. This compartment34 is formed by an arc-shaped cover member 34a which has an upwardlyextending rear flange 341) secured as by welding to the bulkhead, and afront panel 36 suitably positioned across the front end of thecompartment to form a substantially air-tight structure as seen inFigure 4.

At its lower end, additional support is provided for the bulkhead 30 byapair of. diverging legs 31, Figures 2 and 5, which have rear flanges31a. suitably secured to the bulkhead. Each leg 31 is made of a singlechannel member bent at an angle and having its lower flange secured byrivets 30a to the lower casing member 12. A cross member 39 is securedbetween the two legs 31, being'wel'ded to their upper flanges, forproviding lateral support thereto.

The shaft 28 isdisposed for rotation in a pair of bearing sleeves 40 and4!, which may conveniently be of the self-lubricating or oil-impregnatedtype. These bearing sleeves are positioned at opposite ends of astationary sleeve 52 which is rigidly secured as by welding to a flange43a of a support member 53. This support member 43 is substantially ofbox-like construction (Figures 2 and 3) having side members secured by aflange 44a to the bulkhead 35, and a top member 45 secured to thebulkhead by flange 5561.. At its lower end, the support member 53, has arearwardly extending flange 46 by which it is secured to the casingmember [2.

Means for heating of the air which is circulated through the drum [5 isprovided by an electric heating unit comprising a plurality of heatercoils 5| connected in series through suitable terminals 52, and suppliedwith power through conductors 53 and 54. In order that the coils may beeasily removed for cleaning, they are mounted in a frame structureincluding a top plate 55, a bottom plate 55, and side plates 5'! and 58.This frame structure is adapted to be slid down into a vertical box-likeair chamber 68, and to be supported therein by means of the outer end ofthe top plate 55 which extends over the edges of the widewall of thechamber 65. A locking strip 6!, having a tapped hole therein, dependsfrom the rearmost edge of the top plate 55 for a close fitting contactwith the inner sides of the rear wall 69a. of the air chamber 60. Therear wall has a suitable aperture adapted to receive a bolt 62therethrough, which bolt may be screwed into the tapped hole of thelocking strip 5 I for securing the heater coil assembly in place.

The box-like air chamber is secured as by welding along its side flangeto the bulkhead 3d at the right-hand side of the bulkhead, as seen inthe rear view (Figure 3). Directly in front of the heating coil, thereis provided a port 83 in the bulkhead. Thus, air passing over theheating coils 5! can move forwardly through the port 63 in the bulkheadand then through the screen member I! at the rear of the drum I5.

In the lower portion of the rear wall a there is provided an exhaustport 6019 which is arranged to receive a tube or pipe 64 extendingrearwardly through the rear wall of the casing and having a butterflyvalve 64a disposed. across the inside of the tube. This valve has anexterior manual control handle 64b for positioning thevalve across thepassageway of the tube. It will be readily seen that since the tube lidis the only place through which air can leave the casing, the positionof the butterfly valve 64a will determine the amount of air leaving thecasing. Thus, since the amount of fresh air taken in depends upon howmuch of the air in the drier is permitted to escape, the amount of freshair is also controlled by regulating the butterfly valve 64a.

Rotation of the shaft 25, and consequently, the drum i5, is accomplishedthrough a drive mechanism including a pulley wheel H which is seed to te sha t by means of a set screw 12.

As best shown in Figures 1 and 2, the pulley wheel H is driven by asuitable belt 13 from a relatively small pulley wheel 14 which ismounted for rotation on a bearing sleeve 15 disposed about an axle T9.The axle 1B is attached for pivotal movement in an idler arm 11 by meansof an end 16a which is peened over the edge thereof. The wheel 74 isalso the hub of an idler pulley wheel 79 which, therefore, is alsoadapted to rotate about the axle 19.

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, the idler arm 11 is secured at itslower end for pivoting about a pin 80 in a U-shaped bracket 8| which isadjustably mounted by means of bolts 82 in slots in the lower casingmember 52. Near the upper end of the idler arm H, a coil spring 18 isfastened in a hole Ha, having its other end anchored in an upright lug89 secured to the casing member l2. The spring 18 thus tends to swingthe idler arm 71 clockwise about the shaft 89, causing the pulley wheel"It to move downwardly and, thus, put a tension on the pulley belt 13.

The idler pulley 79 is driven by means of a belt 93 which is alsodisposed over a motor drive pulley 94 and a blower driven pulley 95. Asis readily seen in Figure l, the downward pull of the spring 18 alsowill put a tension on the belt 83.

It is to be particularly noted that the motor 35 drives the blower 65 atapproximately motor speed, since the pulleys 94 and 85 are approximatelythe same size. However, the drum [5 which rotates on the shaft 28 isdriven at a greatly reduced speed through the large pulleys i9 and "H.

Air is forced over the heating coils 5| by a blower 65 which is suitablymounted in a housing 95, taking suction from the rear of the drum I5through an inlet port 99 located therein. An enclosed conduit 79connects the blower discharge to the vertical air chamber 69, directingair thereto near its lower end. It is to be noted in Figure 2 that theconduit 19 is located between the bull;- head 39 and the support member43.

Figure 7 of the drawings illustrates the novel electrical controlcircuit of this invention. The drier is arranged to be energized from asingle phase, three-wire source of alternating current represented bythe power supply conductors 99, SI and 92. These conductors 99, 9| and92 may be understood to be the conventional 220-410 volt public utilitypower supply which is brought into a large number of homes today,particularly where electric heating devices are used.

By way of example, the voltage drop between conductors 99 and 92 may be220 volts, while the voltage drop between conductors 99 and 9!, as wellas between conductors 91 and 92, may be 110 volts.

A push-button 93 is mounted on the instrument panel Ha of the casing l lwhere it is con veniently located to be depressed wh n the controlcircuit is to be energized.

More particularly, when the push-button 93 is depressed, a pair ofbridging contacts 94 and 95 which are insulated from each other, butmounted on a common actuating member 96, move into circuit-closingposition to connect the electric heater 55 across the power supplyconductors 99 and 92, thus connecting the heater unit 59 to a source of220 volts.

As is illustrated in Figure 7 of the drawings, the bridging contact 94is arranged to engage the stationary contacts 9? and 99, while thebridging contact 95 is arranged to engage the stationary contacts 99 andI90.

The heater unit 50 is connected to stationary contacts 91 and 99 throughconductors 53 and 54. The power supply conductor 99 is directlyconnected to the stationary contact 98, while the power supply conductor92 is connected to the stationary contact I99 through a thermostaticbimetal switch 19!. It will thus be observed that the heating currentpasses directly through the bimetal switch element 19!. It will beunderstood that the temperature increase, due to the passage of currenttherethrough, will cause the thermostatic switch element [ill to movefrom its full line position to its dotted line position as shown inFigure 7 of the drawings.

The purpose and function of this thermostatic bimetal switch 19! willpresently be explained in describing the operation of the controlcircuit.

At the same time that the heater 59 is connected across the power supplyconductors 99 and 92, the electric motor 35 is connected across thepower supply conductors 9! and 92, thereby to energize the motor 35 froma source of 110 volts.

More particularly, one side of the motor 35 is directly connected to thepower supply conductor 9|, while the other side of the motor isconnected through a conductor I92 to the stationary contact 99 by thebridging contact switch 95. Thus, with the bridging contact inengagement with its associated stationary contacts 99 and I09, the motoris connected to the power source through the thermostatic bimetal switchelement I9 I. The motor 35, however, is also connected to a stationarycontact I93 through conductor I94.

A Sylphon bellows H95 having an actuating finger I09 is provided to openthe bridging con tacts 94 and 95 after the temperature of the air beingwithdrawn from the drum 15 by the suction blower 65 has risen to apredetermined temperature level.

A bulb [91 containing a heat transfer fluid is connected through a longtube I98 to the bellows [05. As may be seen best in Figure 1 of thedrawings, the bulb IE)? is located in the scroll casing of the blower65. It is to be understood that the bellows I95 will expand as thetemperature of the bulb I9! is raised, and that after this expansion hasreached a predetermined point, it will cause the finger [96 to engagethe push-button actuation mechanism including the member 96 and thebridging contacts 94 and 95 and open the respective circuits of thebridging contacts .94 and 95.

Due to the opening of the bridging contact 94, the heating unit 5% iscompletely out of the circuit, but it will be observed that the motor 35continues to run due to the fact that it is now energized from the powersupply conductors 9i and 92 through the stationary contact I93 and thebimetal thermostatic element [91.

As the thermostatic element l9! begins to cool ofif, due to the factthat the heavy heating current which energizes the heating unit 59 is nolonger passing therethrough, it gradually moves from its dotted lineposition to its full line position.

The stationary contact [s3 is preferably made relatively wide so thatthere is a wiping action between the end of the bimetal element I91 andthe stationary contact 193. This enables the motor to remain energizedfor a predetermined period of time after de-energization of the heater59. This, of course, is a very desirable, and even necessary, feature inany clothes drier; for if the 7 drum immediately stops rota-ting uponde-energization of the heating unit, there is a tendency to injure theclothes being dried.

It has been found, on the. other hand, that if the drum continues torotate for a predetermined period of time after de-energization of theheating unit, no damage to the clothes occurs, By way of example, andnot by way of limitation, this time may be of the relative order ofmagnitude of approximately two minutes. It will, of course, beappreciated that the time may be predetermined by the relative width ofthe stationary contact N33, or, in other words, the length of time thatthe end of the bimetal element HM moves before becoming disengaged fromthe stationary contact Hit.

The temperature of the air to which the clothes in the drum l aresubjected is arranged to be selectively controlled through a suitableselector knob H39 mounted on the panel Ha adj acent the push-button 93.

Since the actual mechanical construction of this selector mechanismforms n part of the present invention, it has not been illustrated indetail, but it will be understood that angular movement of the selectorHi9 variably changes the relative spacing between the finger ltd of thebellows E85 and the bridging contact assembly. Thus, when a highertemperature is desired, the finger W5 is moved relatively farther awayso that it has a greater distance to travel before engaging the bridgingcontact assembly to open the same.

The drier of this invention is put into operation in the followingmanner. The desired temperature of the heated air is selected on thecontrol knob I85, and the butterfly valve Eda is regulated to permit a.portion of the air to be exhausted. It will be appreciated that it isnot desirable to introduce 100% fresh air over the heater coils, sincethis would require the expenditure of a great deal of electrical energyin raising the temperature from room temper.- ature to the desireddrying temperature. Also, it is recognized that in order to prevent therecirculation of odors picked up from the clothes, it is desirable thata certain percent of fresh air be introduced at all times.

When the above adjustments have been made and the clothes have beenplaced in the drier through the door l3, the push-button $3 on thecontrol panel is depressed, thus energizing the heater coil and settinthe motor 35 in operation.

Referring to Figure 3, it is seen that the blower 65 immediately beginsto draw air out of the drum 3 through the port 69 and forces the airdown the conduit it to the lower end of the vertical air chamber 69 inwhich the heater coils are located. A portion of this air is permittedto escape through the exhaust 64, depending upon the positioning of thebutterfly valve 66a. The main body of air will be forced upwardly in thechamber 60, over the heating coils, through the opening 63 in thebulkhead 3t, and then into the drum through the screen member [1. Sincethe blower 65 is thus forcing air into the heater near one side of thedrum and drawing it out at the other side, it is evident that the heatedair will be thoroughly circulated around the clothes being tumbled inthe rotating drum. Since the opening 63 in the bulkhead wall is ofconsiderable size, the radiant heat from the heater coil will also contact the clothes in the drier and thus accelerate the drying process.

As previously explained, there is an opening on three sides of thebulkhead 30 between the bulkhead and the casing of approximately of aninch. Since this opening is small, there is a relatively low pressurearea maintained on the forward side of the bulkhead due to the suctionaction of the blower. There will, therefore, be a pressure differentialexisting between the front and rear portions of the drum which will tendto draw fresh air from behind the bulkhead, forwardly through theopening between the bulkhead and the casing, and into the annularopening in the front of the drum.

The flow of fresh air between the casing and the drum tends to maintainthe casing relatively cool and prevents it from obtaining objectionablyhigh temperatures. Also, the air coming in the inlet holes It must passover the motor 35 and thus cools the motor.

From the foregoing description, it is evident that there is provided inthis invention a drier which through the use of an efiicient air heatingand circulatin system and a novel electrical control circuit willefiectively dry clothes or other articles placed therein.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention and describeda particular method of operation, it will, of course, be understood thatI do not wish to be limited thereto, since many modifications may bemade, and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims, to cover allsuch modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of myinvention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a clothes drier, a housing having a front wall having aclothes-receiving opening therein and a door sealing said opening whenclosed, a drum rotatably journaled in said housing, said drum having animperforate periphery, a front wall confronting the front wall of saidhousing and having a clothes-receiving opening therein registering withsaid door, and also havin a rear wall having an imperforate centralportion forming a support means for said drum and having an annulardrying air circulation opening on the outside of said imperforatecentral portion of said wall and extending to a position adjacent theperiphery of said drum and forming a major portion of the area of saidrear wall, an upright partition mounted within said housing andconfronting the rear wall of said drum and. forming a bulkheadestablishing a circulation of air through said drum, said bulkheadhaving a plurality of air circulating openings therein in communicationwith said annular opening in said rear wall of said drum, heating meanscommunicating with one of said openings in said bulkhead, suction meanscommunicating with another of said openings in said bulkhead, and an airduct leading from said suction means to the outside of said housing anddirecting the air passing from said drum to the atmosphere.

2. In a clothes drier, a housing having a front wall having aclothes-receivin opening therein, a door on said front wall sealing saidopening when closed, a rotatable clothes drying drum within saidhousing, said drum having an imperforate periphery, a front wallconfronting the front wall of said housing and havin a clothesreceivingopening therein registering with said door, and also having a rear wallhaving an imperforate central portion forming a support means for saiddrum, and an annular air circulation opening on the outside of saidimperforate central portion of said front wall and extending to aposition adjacent the periphery of said drum and forming a greaterportion of the area of said rear wall, a partition mounted within saidhousing and confronting the rear wall of said drum and forming abulkhead establishing a circulation of air through said drum and havinga plurality of air circulation openings therein in communication withsaid annular opening in said rear wall of said drum, a shaft extendingrearwardly from said imperforate central portion of said drum androtatably supported on said partition for rotatably supporting saiddrum, a motor within said housing, means driven by said motor forrotatably driving said drum, said partition being spaced from the Wallsof said housing for the circulation of air thereby and into said drumthrough said clothesreceiving opening and also having air ducts leadingto and from said openings for establishing a circulation of air into andout of said drum, heating means communicating with one of said airducts, a blower communicating with the other of said air ducts and saidother air duct leading from said blower to the outside of said housing,and directing the air discharged from said drum to the atmosphere.

3. In a, clothes drier, a housing having a front wall having aclothes-receiving door therein, a door hinged to said front wall andsealing said opening when closed, an upright partition within saidhousing spaced a substantial distance from said front wall and havinelongated diverging bracing legs extending along the bottom of saidhousing and secured thereto, a drum rotatably mounted between saidpartition and front wall, said drum having an imperforate periphery, afront wall confronting the front wall of said housing and having aclothes-receiving opening therein registering with said door, and a rearwall having an imperforate central portion forming a support means forsaid drum and an annular air circulation opening on the outside of saidimperforate central portion of said rear wall and extending to aposition adjacent the periphery of said drum and forming a greaterportion of the area of said rear wall, said partition forming a bulkheadestablishing a circulation of air through said drum and having aplurality of air circulating openings therein in communication with saidannular opening in said rear wall of said drum, and air ducts leading toand from said openings for establishing a circulation of air into andout of said drum, heating means within said housing and communicatingwith one of said ducts, the other of said ducts leading through saidhousing and the outside thereof for discharging the spent air toatmosphere, an upright support spaced rearwardly of said partition andextending parallel thereto, a shaft extending through said partition andsupport and rotatably supported by said partition and support, a motorwithin said housing, means driven by said motor for driving said shaftand drum, a suction blower mounted in the other of said ducts incommunication with one of the openings in said bulkhead and the interiorof said drum, and a drive connection from said motor to said blower forsimultaneously rotating said blower with said drum.

4. In a clothes drier, a casing having a front wall having aclothes-receiving openin therein and a door sealing said opening whenclosed, a cylindrical drum rotatably journaled in said casing and havingan imperforate periphery, a front wall adjacent the front wall of saidhousing with a clothes-receiving opening therein registering with saiddoor and a perforate rear wall for the circulation of drying air throughsaid drum, a bulkhead adjacent and extending parallel to said rear walland supported on the bottom of said housing, means rotatably supportedby said bulkhead for rotatably supporting said drum, said bulkheadhaving a plurality of openings therein in communication with said drumthrough said rear wall, heating means within said housing, an air ductconnecting said heating means with one of said openings in saidbulkhead, a suction blower associated with the other of said openings insaid bulkhead and drawing air into and withdrawing air from said drum,and an air duct leading from said blower to the outside of said housing.

5. In a clothes drier, a casing having a front wall having aclothes-receiving opening therein and a door sealing said opening whenclosed, an upright partition within said casing spaced a substantialdistance from said front wall, said partition having elongated divergingbracing legs extending therefrom along the bottom of said housing andsecured thereto, a support spaced rearwardly of said partition, a shaftrotatably supported by said partition and support, a drum supported onthe inside of said shaft in the space between said partition and frontwall of said housing, a pulley on the outside of said shaft, a motor fordriving said pulley, said drum having an imperforate periphery, a frontwall adjacent the front wall of said housing with a clothesreceivingopening therein registering with said door, and a perforate rear wallfor the circulation of drying air through said drum, said partitionconfronting said perforate rear wall and having a plurality of openingstherein in communication with the interior of said drum through saidrear wall, heating means within said housing, an air duct connectingsaid heating means with one of said openings in said bulkhead, a suctionblower associated with the other of said openings, means driven by saidmotor for driving said blower simultaneously with said drum to draw airinto and withdraw air from said drum, and an air duct leading from saidblower to the outside of said housing.

PETER, EDUARD GELDHOF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,358,599 White Nov. 9, 19201,799,261 Stoody Apr. 7, 1931 2,123,304 Hetzer July 12, 1938 2,262,186Lindberg l Nov. 11, 1941 2,314,748 White Mar. 23, 1943 2,360,161 PurkettOct. 10, 1944 2,372,790 Morgenstern Apr. 3, 1945 2,389,433 Hough Nov.20, 1945 2,398,880 Broglie Apr. 23, 1946 2,477,820 Pokras Aug. 2, 19492,498,181 Reiter Feb. 21, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date511,612 Great Britain Aug. 22, 1939

